Friday, May 16, 2014

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway. We're the best of friends. And I can't wait to get on the road again.

I suppose there's a little Willie Nelson in each of us.

Now that Sash has made the announcement, I suppose there's no turning back now. What's the announcement? We're giving up on trying to stay put in San Diego, and going back out on the road.

The only reason why we've been in San Diego since last October is because we weren't able to make enough money on the road last year. So we figured we needed to stay in San Diego, where we already had something of a marketing base to build on, and try to add more clients to our marketing business. And we did build on it. We got referrals from other clients and built a name for ourselves.

But after spending time at the Steel Horse Sisterhood Summit, Sash was able to make some solid connections in the motorcycling industry. We actually picked up a couple of paying clients and started relationships with a couple more. But these clients didn't come from our marketing efforts in San Diego. They came from Sash's social media efforts, her face to face relations, and more client referrals. On top of that, she met with vendors at the Summit who travel the motorcycle event circuit and build income on the road. All the above was enough to point us in a new direction and give it another go.

For one thing, it was always our intent to make San Diego a temporary hiatus from Road Pickle. We were just giving ourselves a full year before trying Road Pickle Part 2, though looks like we're cutting it short by about 4 months.

In mid-June, we'll take off again.

The first stop?

Bakersfield, CA.

"Bakersfield?" you ask.

Well, it turns out Sash's daughter is expecting her first child around that time, and she lives in Bakersfield. We're looking to spent about a month there while Sash cuddles and coddles with her new grandson. Honestly, I don't feel like a grandfather. Technically, I'll be a step-grandfather, though the relationship I have with Sash's daughter is hardly paternal. It's really more like friends. But the truth is that I have this thing in me that rejects old age, and the thought of being an ancestor leaves me wincing and scratching my head. I can't stand the idea that I'm getting closer to the big 5-0.

So why not vacate this condo in San Diego, and really try to live like motorcycle gypsies, except this time indefinitely?

Why not just eliminate the rest of our stuff and really throw ourselves to the wind, to fate, and hope that we'll die riding our motorcycles?

Why not just get naked?

But there's another dynamic to this we haven't touched on yet. It's not just about uprooting ourselves and living from town to town. We're also testing our trust in each other. Despite how romantic and wonderful we appear to be on our blogs and our social media channels, Sash and I are still learning how to live with each other. We have more than our fair share of arguments and fights, and when our emotions boil over, it often seems like we can't take anymore and have to call it quits. But by the next day, we've come back together, feeling sorry, no matter how ugly the fights might be.

We've been through enough of them, yet still feel so strongly about each other, that I think we've convinced ourselves that nothing can break the bonds we've built. We've tested them pretty thoroughly.

Going back on the road indefinitely, will be the ultimate expression of trust.

This sounds like a lot more than simply an adventure but a shift in lifestyle. A lot of people talk about doing this but very few are willing to follow. Good luck with this and I hope you continue to post.

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About Steve

A vagabond who hauls a motorcycle around the country in a toy hauler, earning a living as a website developer. Can often be found where there's free Wi-Fi, craft beer, and/or public nudity. (Read more...)